Australian state plans to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 - and why the rest of the country could follow

One Australian state is set to take the lead in raising the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 - and the rest of the country could follow. 

Tasmania is introducing a bill into state parliament this year which would prohibit anyone under 21 years of age from buying cigarettes. 

Similar laws were previously introduced in one United States town and proved so successful in reducing smoking rates in younger people that the entire country followed suit. 

Tasmania is introducing a bill into state parliament this year which would prohibit anyone under 21-years-old from buying cigarettes (file image) 

Tobacco use was halved among high school students in town of Needham Massachusetts where the law was first introduced - plunging by 47 per cent. 

The move to change the cigarette purchasing age in Australia follows campaigning by anti-smoking groups who say Australia would see the same benefit. 

The Public Health Amendment to the Prevention of Sale of Smoking Products to Underage Persons Bill 2018 will be introduced to state parliament in March. 

Independent Tasmanian politician Ivan Dean has been campaigning against smoking for years and will read the amendment to parliament. 

It is expected to receive bi-partisan support. 

If the scenario in Australia follows the American pilot program, other states will likely quickly follow in preventing those aged 18 to 21 from buying the product. 

After the success in Needham,states across the US such as New York, California and Hawaii began to raise the age before in December 2019 it was raised across the entire country. 

The Public Health Amendment to the Prevention of Sale of Smoking Products to Underage Persons Bill 2018 will be introduced to state parliament in March (file image) 

Critics have argued Australians are considered adults at 18-years-old, can already buy alcohol or join the Army, and should be responsible for their own decisions. 

'All you're going to do is get people who are 21, 22, or with fake ID, going into shops and buying cigarettes and distributing them,' Greg Barnes from the Australian Lawyers Alliance told the ABC. 

'Everybody under the age of 18 gets from family and friends and that is not going to change,' Small Business Council CEO Robert Mallett said.